Method for forming and filling packages



C. W. VOGT METHOD FOR FORMING AND FILLING PACKAGES March 14, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 25, 1956 CZafience VIII/0 91% March 14, 1961 c, w. voGT METHOD FOR FORMING AND FILLING PACKAGES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 23, 1.956

INVE N TOR CZar'ence W V092? March 14, 1961 c w. voG

METHOD FOR FORMING AND FILLING PACKAGES 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 25, 1956 INVENTOR Clafience I'VE/0 95 March 14, 1961 c. w. VOG-T METHOD FOR FORMING AND FILLING PACKAGES 4 Sheets-She et 4 Filed July 23, 1956 INVENTOR flafiezwe W Vogf .1) w amw United States Patent METHOD FOR FORMING AND FILLING PACKAGES Clarence W. Vogt, P.0. Box 232, Westport, Conn. Filed July 23, 1956, SenNo. 599,632

Claims. CI. 53-24 This invention relates to the art of packaging and more particularly to the method of packaging comminuted fiowable material that is form retaining yet moldable when packaged and readily disturbed, such as flour, pancake or cake mixes, gelatinous materials or the like, as well as to the equipment for forming such packages and to the containers thereof.

As conducive to an understanding of the invention, it is noted that for ease in handling and economy of storage, it is desirable that packages be rectangular in shape, preferable in the form of a parallelepiped. Where individual packages are for-med that are triangular in cross section and which are then juxtaposed to form a package that is rectangular in cross section, the packaging operation is much more time consuming than it would be if the rectangular package were formed in a single operation and in addition would require much more wrapping material.

Where a container is formed from sheet material and requires mechanism for end folding the material, the forming operation is time consuming and adds greatly to the cost of the finished package. In addition, there is the likelihood that some of the material being packaged will be trapped between the end folds with resultant waste when the package is emptied.

Where containers are formed from sheet plastic that is molded into rectangular form with lateral fins for sealing of a cover member thereon and the sheet must be relatively thick to permit stretching to the desired shape without rupture, as the fin portion, which is unstretched, would be relatively thick, it could not be bent flush against the container and might crack or tear. As a result, in assembling a multi-unit package having a number of individual containers, as they cannot be closely justaposed, the multi-unit packages would have relatively great bulk. In addition, the cost of the relatively thick plastic sheet adds greatly to the overall cost of the completed package.

It is accordingly among the objects of the invention to provide a relatively simple method and correspondingly simple equipment for forming packages from relatively thin, inexpensive sheet plastic that contain material that is compacted so as to be form retaining yet still moldable and readily disturbed when in packaged :form, which packages are substantially in the form of a parallelepiped having fin seals that may readily be bent to lie flush against the body of the package without likelihood of rupture or cracking, for facility in forming multi-unit packages in a minimum space and which method and apparatus forms a complete container without end folds, thereby dispensing with the need for mechanism for this purpose and avoiding the possibility of trapping of some of the material that is packaged.

Another object is to provide a method and equipment for forming packages of the above type with reinforcement members which prevent deformation of the completed package.

Another object is to provide a package containing me;-

terial of the above type, formed from relatively thin sheet plastic material, that is devoid of end folds and has fin seals that may readily be bent to lie flush against the package without likelihood of rupture or cracking of the sheet material at the junction of the fin seal and the body of the package.

According to the invention, the package comprises trough shaped base and cover members of relatively thin sheet plastic, each of said members having a fin extending laterally from the mouth thereof. The base and cover members are preferably triangular in cross section and of complementary configuration so that when juxtaposed they will form substantially a parallelepiped.

In a preferred embodiment a U-shaped reinforcement member has its cross piece extending parallel to a side wall of one of the members and has its legs extending parallel to and lying flush against the end walls of the base and cover member.

The equipment for forming said packages desirably comprises means for forming the trough shaped base member by deforming a sheet of plastic to the desired shape. Suitable blowing means are provided to force a charge of form retaining yet moldable material into the trough of the base member so that it fills such trough in compacted form and protrudes beyond the mouth of the latter also in compacted form. The equipment has means for forming a trough shaped cover member of configuration complementary to the protruding portion of the material being packaged and positioning such cover member over such material so that pressure may thereupon be exerted against juxtaposed lateral fins on the base and cover members to seal them together with out disturbing the contents of the container defined by the base and cover members.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. l is an exploded perspective view of a container according to one embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a reinforcement member for the embodiment of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view with parts broken away of a multi-unit package,

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are views similar to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 respectively of a container according to another embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 7a is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of. the packaging mechanism according to another embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a porous liner,

Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the turret mount and manifold taken along line 1tl10 of Fig. 8,

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken along line 11-11 of Fig. 8,

Fig. 12 is a side elevational view with parts broken away taken along line 12-42 of Fig. 8, and

Figs. 13 and 14 are detail sectional views showing various positions of the reinforcement members.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 of the drawings, the container comprises a base member 11 and a cover member 12., each desirably formed from a relatively thin sheet of thermo-plastic material such as Saran, polyethylene, polyvinyl resin or the like. The base and cover members 11 and 12 are trough shaped as shown, each illustratively triangular in cross section having side walls 13, 14 and 15, 16 extending from their apices i7, 18 and substantially parallel and walls 19, 21. The months 22, 23 of the base and cover member are desir- 3 ably of the same size and each has an outstanding peripheral fin 24, which is an integral part thereof.

When the base and cover members 11 and 12 are juxtaposed with their fins 24, 25 in engagement and secured together to form fin seals, a parallelepiped will be formed having fin seals along the side walls thereof and extending diametrically across the end walls thereof.

Desirably the base and cover members 11 and 12 are of complementary configuration so that the resultant package will be square in cross section.

In order to prevent deformation of the package in the case of packaging comminuted and fiowable form retaining, but deformable material such as flour, cake mixes, gelatinous mixtures and the like, a reinforcement member 31 is desirably provided. This member, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, is a relatively stiff substantially U-shaped strip of cardboard, for example, having a substantially rectangular cross piece 32 desirably coextensive with a side wall of one of the trough like members 11 and 12 and rectangular legs 33 desirably coextensive with the end wall of the completed container, said end walls 33 desirably being diagonally scored as at 34 to permit ready bending thereof for facility of removal of the container in the manner hereinafter described from the mold in which it is filled.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the cross piece is positioned in the base member 11 so as to extend parallel to and rest against the side wall 14- thereof. With the cross piece so positioned the portion 35 of the legs 33 between the score line 34 and the apex 17 of the base member will rest against the end Wall E and the portion 36 of the legs 33 above the score line 34 will extend beyond the mouth 22 of base member 11 and rest against the end Walls 21 of the cover member 12, the ends 37 of legs 33 resting against the side wall 15 of the cover member adjacent the end wall 21 thereof.

The width of legs 33 at the ends '37 thereof preferably is slightly less than its width at its opposed end so that the protruding portion 36 will be slightly tapered to facilitate removal from the mold in which the package is formed.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 to 7, the cross piece 32 is positioned in the base member 11 so as to extend parallel to and spaced from side wall 13 thereof. With the cross piece 32 so positioned, the portion 33 of the legs 33 between the score line 34 and the apex 17 of the base member 11 will rest against the end wall 19 and the portion 39 of the legs 33 along the score line will extend beyond the mouth 22 of the base member and rest against the end walls 21 of the cover member 12, the ends 41 of legs 33 resting against the side wall 13 of the cover member adjacent the end wall 21 thereof.

Desirably the cross piece 32 of the reinforcement member shown in Figs. 5 to 7 has a plurality of perforations 43 therethrough, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. The length of the edge 44 of the cross piece 32 is desirably slightly less than that of the edge 45 thereof and the width of legs 33 at the end 41 thereof is slightly less than its width at its opposed end so that the protruding portion 39 will also be slightly tapered to facilitate removal from the mold in which the package is filled.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 to 7, the ends 41 of legs 33 have inwardly extending flaps 46 which rest against the side wall 13 of the base member to obviate puncturing of the thin plastic material at such region.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 7a is substantially identical to that shown in Figs. 5 to 7 except that the base and cover members 11' and 12' have a \ommon fin so that the cover member 12' may readily be folded over the base member 11', after the latter has been charged.

In Fig. 4 is illustratively shown one manner in which the individual packages above described may be arranged in a multi-unit or composite package affording substantial protection against external stresses tending to deform 4 or disfigure such package, yet providing for visibility of the contents of the individual packages.

Thus two layers each comprising four of the individual packages are placed side by side in an enwrapment 47. The individual packages are positioned in the enwraprnent 47 so that the cross pieces 32 and legs 33 from a peripheral reinforcement for the completed multi-unit package. In addition the pair of cross pieces 32 at the middle 48 of the multi-unit package form a reinforcing spine which also prevents deformation.

With the individual packages so positioned in the enwrapment 4-7 it is apparent that a span 49 of the enwrapment will extend over the top and bottom of the multiunit package providing a clear view of the contents of the individual package.

As the reinforcements thus positioned extend around the perimeter of the final package, they provide substantial protection against external stresses tending to deform the package. Thus, forces from above will encounter the rigidity of the reinforcement strips 31 which stand on top of each other while forces from any lateral direction will be absorbed by means of these same strips including their legs 33.

It is apparent that while the packages illustrated in Fig. 4 is formed from eight units, any desired number of units may be packaged together as long as the reinforcements 31 are oriented to extend completely around the perimeter of the package.

Although the packages shown in Figs. 1 to 7 can be made in any suitable manner, a preferred embodiment of automatic equipment for this purpose is shown in Figs. 8 to 14.

This equipment is designed to produce a plurality of individual packages of the above type each desirably square in cross section, although packages that are of any suitable configuration, such as cylindrical, oval or hexagonal, for example, in cross section can be formed.

Referring to Fig. 8, the equipment desirably comprises a turret or drum 51 rotatable in a clockwise direction about a fixed shaft 52 extending between a pair of standards or uprights 53. The turret 51 illustratively has twelve faces, each with a molding element such as a block 54 secured thereto, the side edges of said blocks being beveled 'as at 55 to engage each other.

Each of the blocks 54 desirably has a plurality of substantially triangular, longitudinally aligned molding cavities or pockets 56 therein, the apex 57 of each of said cavities being adjacent the inner surface 58 of the associated block. The end walls of the cavities 56 are defined by the spacer walls 61 (Fig. 11) between adjacent cavities and by the side walls 62 of the blocks 54. Desirably the spacer walls 61 and side walls 62 are tapered slightly to facilitate removal of the package therefrom.

Positioned in the cavities in each of the blocks is a liner member 64 (Fig. 9) of porous material such as sintered bronze. The liner member 64 is illustratively of zig-zag conformation defining a plurality of triangular portions 65 each complementary to the triangular cavities 56 and adapted to fit into such cavities.

The apex of each of the triangular portions 65 of the liner 64 has a substantially rectangular rib 66 along its undersurface adapted to fit into a corresponding rectangular recess 67 in the block 54 at the apex of each of the cavities therein. The ends of each of the ribs 66 rests on a seat 68 at each end of the respective cavities to space the undersurface of the rib from the floor of the rectangular recess in the block as is clearly shown in Fig. 11.

Each of the side edges of the liners 64 has a lateral flange 69 which rests on the outer portion of the side edge of each of the blocks 54 and is secured thereto in any suitable manner so that the side walls 71, 72 of each of the triangular portions of the liner will rest against the associated side walls of the cavities 56 as shown in Figs.

'13 and 14.

Each of the blocks 54 has a port 73 leading into each of the cavities 56 and said ports 73 are connected by suitable conduits 77 to apertures 78 in the end wall 79 of the turret 51 arranged in a circle around shaft 52. As shown in Figs. 8 and 10, a manifold 81 is secured to shaft 52 as by set screw 82, said manifold being in airtight relation to the end wall 79 of the rotatable turret and having an arcuate cavity 83 therein with which the apertures 78 in the end wall 79 are aligned when the associated blocks 54 are at stations A to I inclusive and a circular cavity 84 with which the apertures 78 are aligned when the associated block is at station I.

The manifold has ports 85 and 86 leading into arcuate cavity 83 and circular cavity 84 to which conduits 87, 88 from a source of vacuum and a source of pressure may be connected respectively.

Associated with the turret 51 at station A is a reciprocable clamp member 91 adapted to move toward and away from the flanges 69 of the liners 64.

A continuous length of relatively thin plastic sheet material 92 of the type previously described and which may have a thickness in the order of 2 to 3 mils extends across the clamp member 91 so that it will be retainedby the latter against the flanges 69 of the liner 64 at station A Associated with the clamp member 91 is a heater 93 which serves to soften the plastic sheet 92 so that when suction is applied to ports 73, the sheet 92 will deform against the liner 64 to form the base member 11.

At station E, a suitable mechanism (not shown) may be provided to insert a reinforcement member 31 of the type shown in Figs. 2 and 6 into each of the plastic sheet lined cavities in the block 54. The reinforcement members 31, which desirably have a micro-crystalline wax coating on their undersurface so as to adhere to the plastic sheet liner to be retained thereagainst, may be so stacked into the insertion mechanism that when inserted into the base member 11 the cross piece 32 will rest against the side wall 14 of the base member 11 with its legs 33 against the end walls 19 thereof as shown in Figs. 1 and 13. In this position the mouth 22 of the base member (Figs. 1 and 13) is completely open. If desired, the reinforcement member 31 may be so stacked into the insertion mechanism that when inserted into the base member 11 its cross piece 32 extends parallel to wall 13 of the base member 11 with its legs 33 extending downwardly to abut against said wall 13 and resting against end walls 19 as shown in Figs. 5 and 14. In this position the mouth 22 is accessible from only one side (Figs. 5, l4).

Positioned at station D is a filling head 96 which may be of the type shown in co-pending application Serial No. 594,152, filed June 27, 1956.

The magazine 97 of the filling head at its lower end has a plurality of substantially triangular cavities 98 therein each with porous side walls 99, 100 and with vents 101 associated with such walls. The cavities 98 in the magazine are desirably complementary to those in the block 54 so that when the magazine is moved downwardly with its lower end in sealing engagement with the plastic sheet on the periphery of the cavities in the block 54, a substantially rectangular cavity will be formed which can be filled by expulsion of material through the passageways 102 in the magazine in the manner described in said aforementioned patent application.

Located at station E is a cover member forming unit 103 which desirably comprises a substantially rectangular block 104 preferably square in cross section and rotatable about its axis 105, said block also being reciprocably mounted so as to move toward and away from the turret 51. The block104 illustratively has four faces, each hav- [ing a plurality pf molding cavities 56 therein with asso- "piated ports 73 and a porous liner 64. As the construction and arrangement of the cavities 56, the liners 64 8 as well as the manifold 81' which is connected to suction and pressure ports and 86 is identical to the corresponding elements of the turret 51, they will not be further described.

Associated with the block 104 at station E is a reciprocable clamp member 107 adapted to move toward and away from the block 104. A continuous length of plastic sheet material 108 which may be identical to sheet 92 extends across the clamp member so that it may be retained by the latter against the flanges 69' of liner 64'. Associated with the clamp member 107 is a heater 109 which serves to soften the plastic sheet 108 so that when suction is applied to port 85' the sheet will deform against liner 64' to form the cover member 12.

Means are provided to heat the portions of the sheets 92 and 108 about the peripheries of the cavities 56 and 56' in blocks 54 and block 104 to efiect a seal when such peripheral portions of the sheets are in engagement. To this end, as shown in Fig. 12, the block 104 has heating element 111 therein adjacent each of its faces extending along the periphery of each of the cavities 56'.

Means are provided to sever the successive portions of the sheet 108 as the block 104 is rotated, so that each severed portion will form a partially formed cover member 12 for the material thus far packed into the cavities 56 in the turret. To this end, as shown in Fig. 8, a cam member 112 is pivotally mounted as at 113 and is normally urged in a counterclockwise direction against a stop pin 114 by a spring 115. The cam member has an arcuate portion 116 in the path of movement of the corners 117 of the block 104 so that when the latter is rotated the heated portion of the sheet 108 at the periphery of the cavity 56 will engage said arcuate portion 116 and by reason of the pressure exerted by such portion due to the tension of spring 115, the softened plastic will be severed.

Means are provided at station G, for example, to sever the plastic sheets 92, 108 so that individual longitudinal rows of packages will be formed.

To this end, a cutter member 121 is provided comprising a pair of spaced parallel elongated blades 122 afiixed to a reciprocable rod 123 and movable toward the spans 124 of plastic sheet material 92 and 108 between the adjacent cavities 56 in successive blocks 54 and also toward the spans 124, 125 of sheet material 108 between the adjacent cavities 56 in each block 54. Thus, when said blades 122 engage the span portions 124, 125 of the sheets 92 and 108, the latter will be severed to form longitudinally aligned rows of packages.

Means are also provided at station H, for example, to sever the spans 126, 127 (Fig. 11) of sheet material 92, 108 between the longitudinally aligned cavities 56, in the blocks 54. To this end a cutter member 131 is provided comprising a plurality of spaced parallel elongated blades 132 aflixed to a reciprocable rod 133 and movable toward the span portions 126, 127 so that when the blades 132 engage such span portions 126, 127, the latter will be severed to form individual packages.

Means are provided to move the completed packages away from the filling and packaging mechanism above described.

To this end, a conveyer system 135 is provided at station 1 comprising an endless belt 136 mounted on suitable rollers 137 and carrying on its outer surface successive pairs of spaced substantially trough shaped receptacles 138. The conveyer belt is movable in direction parallel to the axis 52 of the turret 51 and the completed individual packages are deposited into the associated receptacles 138 in the manner hereinafter described.

In the operation of the equipment with a sheet 92 of thin plastic material retained against flanges 69 of liner 64 at station A, and with the heating member 93 moved into juxtaposition with such sheet to soften the latter, suction is applied through line 87 to port 85 of the manifold 81 and such suction will be applied through conduits 7 77 to ports 73 of block.54 at station A as well as to the blocks at stations B to I inclusive.

By reason of the porosity of liners 64 the suction ap plied to ports 73 of block 54 at station A through a suitable valve (not shown) which reduces the suction action at station A to an amount less than that at stations B through I, will, when the plastic sheet 92 has been sufficiently softened by the heating member 93, draw the sheet 92 inwardly to rest against the walls of the liner 64 to conform to the configuration thereof to define a plurality of longitudinally aligned semi-formed base members 11.

Thereupon the clamp member 91 and heater 93 are moved outwardly and the turret 51 rotated in a clockwise direction to draw another portion of sheet 92 into alignment with the clamp member at station A and to move the block 54 in which the base members 11 have just been formed to station B. As suction is continuously applied to the ports 73 at stations A to I, the base members thus far formed will be retained in the cavities in blocks 54.

At station B, reinforcement members 31 are positioned into the base member previously formed by the insertion mechanism at such station. Assuming that the reinforcement member is inserted as shown in Figs. 1 and 13, the cross piece 32 thereof will rest against the side wall 14 of the base member and the lower portions 35 of the legs 33 of the reinforcement member will rest against the end walls 19 of the base member. As the base member is in heated condition, the portions of the reinforcement member thereagainst due to the fact that it has a microcrystalline wax coating thereon will bond to the base member.

While the reinforcement member 31 is inserted, the clamp member 91 and heater 93 will function as previously described to form other base members at station A.

Thereupon the turret is rotated step by step to perform the operations above described and to bring a block 54 containing base members with the reinforcements 31 therein to station D.

At station D the filling head 96 will be moved downwardly so that the lower end of the magazine 97 thereof will be in sealing engagement with the sheet 92 around the peripheries of the cavities in the associated block 54. Thereupon, gas under pressure is applied against the contents of the material in the magazine 96 in the manner described in copending patent application Serial No. 594,152 to force such material through passageways 102 to fill the rectangular cavities defined by the reinforced base members 11 and the cavities 98 in the magazine 96. By reason of such gas pressure, the reinforced troughs in the base members 11 will be filled with material in compacted form and such material will also protrude above the mouth of the base member as at 149 also in compacted form being retained by the walls of the cavities 98 in the magazine 96 and the upper portions 36 of the legs of the reinforcement member 31 in prismatic shape.

If desired, to provide further compacting of the material, mechanism such as that shown in my co-pending patent application Serial No. 595,249, filed July 2, 1956, may be provided to exert mechanical downward pressure on the compacted charge of material.

After the base member 11 is charged, as above described, the filling head 96 is moved away therefrom. As the portion 36 of the legs 33 of the reinforcement member 31 will bend at the score lines 34- to rest against the tapered Walls of the cavities 98, withdrawal of the filling head 96 Will occur without disturbing the compacted material. In addition, as the upper edges of the compacted material at the ends of each cavity in the base member is adjacent the apex 141 of the legs 33,

the latter will also prevent disturbance of such upper edge.

Thereupon, the turret 51 is rotated one station to advance the charged base members to the cover station E.

At this station when the equipment was initially started, the sheet of plastic material 108 against the face of block 104 adjacent the clamp member 167 and heating member 109 was softened and deformed into the cavities 56 by the application of suction to port 73 in the same manner as the base member 11 was formed as previously described at station A.

As the turret 51 is rotated, the block 164 also is rotated so that the corners 117 thereof heated by heating elements 111 are successively moved a' ainst the cam member 112 to effect severing of the sheet 103 to form pairs of longitudinally aligned over members 12 in the cavities 56' in each face of the block 104.

When the charged base members 11 are aligned with the block 104-, the latter is moved downwardly to position the cover members 12 formed therein over the material in the charged base members, the plastic sheet material around the peripheries of the cover members 12 being pressed by the heated block 164 against the peripheries of the plastic sheet material around the base members 12 to form fin seals.

As the cavities 56' in the block 104 are substantially identical to the cavities 98 in the filling head 96, the portions of the compacted material protruding from the base members 12 will not be disturbed as pressure is only applied against the sheet material around the peripheries of the members 11 and 12. Furthermore, as the end Walls 21 of the cover member 12 will press against the outer surface of the legs 33 of the reinforcement member, the ends of the packaged material will also not be disturbed.

If it is desired to imprint a legend onto a side wall of the sheet material forming the cover members 12, it is merely necessary to inscribe the desired legend into the Wall of the liner 64' in cavities 56 so that when the heated sheet material 108 is drawn into the cavities 56 by suction the legend will appear as raised characters on the outer surface of a side wall of the cover member 12.

After the completion of the covering operation above described, the block 104 is moved away from the turret 51 which is then rotated step by step until connected packages are at the severing station G. When at this station the blades 122 will be reciprocated to sever the spans 124, 125 of material between adjacent connected packages.

As a result, there will be formed parallel rows of longitudinal aligned connected packages.

Further rotation of the turret 51 will. advance the rows of packages to severing station H. At which time the blades 132 will be reciprocated to sever the spans 126, 127 of material between the longitudinal aligned packages to form individual packages.

The turret 51 will then advance until the individual packages which are retained in their associated cavities 56 in the blocks 54 by suction, are aligned with the receptacle 138 on the conveyor 135 at station J. At this time, the ports 73 of the block will be aligned with the circular recess 84 in manifold 31 connected to a source of pressure and the completed packages will be pushed out of the associated cavities 56 and deposited onto the receptacles 138, the tapered end walls of the cavities 56 permitting ready expulsion of the packages therefrom.

Where the reinforcement members 31 shown in Fig. 6 are used, when the blocks 54 carrying such members 31 are at station D, as material is forced into the rectangular cavity defined by the juxtaposed triangular cavities 56 and 98, air in such rectangular cavity will pass through the perforations 43 in cross piece 32 to prevent air pockets forming in the compacted material.

With the equipment above described packages that are in the form of a parallelepiped may readily be formed. As no pressure is exerted against the material in the container defined by the base and cover members 11 and 12,

after such container has been charged, the material which is compacted, though it is still moldable will not be disturbed. 1

As the cover member 12 when positioned over the extending portion of the compacted material is still soft, it will adhere at its ends to the portions 36 of the legs 33 of the reinforcement members 31 so that the sheet material encompassing the compacted contents of the container will be securely retained in place without likelihood of slippage.

If desired, the fins on the cover member may be made equal to, narrow or wider than the fins on the base member. If made narrower or wider, a gripping surface is available that will readily permit the user of the package to peel one of the members from the other so that the contents of the container will be exposed.

If desired, the legends on the side wall of the cover member 12 may include quantity markings along the length of the side wall so that the user may cut across the package to select a desired quantity of material.

As the packages thus formed have no end folds, no trapping will occur of any of the material being packaged.

It will be apparent that, instead of the turret 51, the invention may be embodied in an endless conveyor riding around two spaced rotors which provide two' straight tangent runs of the conveyor. Along one straight conveyor run the base portions 11 of the containers are formed at a forming station. Adjacent the forming station and next in order of progression of the conveyor, the reinforcements 31 may be inserted into the base members 11 following which, at the next adjacent station the material from which the base portions are formed is slitted. The conveyor then passes about one of the rotors during which time the contents of the containers are introduced thereinto. As the conveyor leaves the first rotor and moves into the other straight conveyor run, the cover members 12 are applied following which, at the next adjacent station, the containers may be separated by slitting operations. The separate filled containers are then removed from the conveyor as it passes about the second rotor. The foregoing operations are preferably carried out while the conveyor moves continuously.

As many changes could be made in the above method and equipment and package, and many apparently Widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: V

l. The method of packaging form retaining still moldable material which comprises blowing a moldable material into a confined space between a trough-like base member and a cover for said member haw'ng an inverted trough-shaped cavity therein, to fill said space so that the material extends outwardly from the mouth of the base member within the boundaries of such month, positioning a trough-like cover member, having a cavity substantially coextensive with the extending portion of the material to be packaged, over such material so that the peripheries of the mouths of the base and cover members are in engagement and sealing said peripheries together by exerting pressure thereagainst.

2. The method of packaging form retaining still moldable material which comprises exerting gas pressure against a charge of such material to fill a troughalike base member so that the material being packaged pro trudes outwardly from the mouth of the trough within the boundaries of such mouth and is compacted both in the trough and the extending portion, positioning a trough-1ike cover member, having a cavity coextensive with the protruding portion of the material to be packaged, over such material so that the peripheries of the mouths of the base and the cover are in engagement and sealing together such peripheries by exerting pressure thereagainst.

3. The method of packaging form retaining still moldable material which comprises forming a trough-like base member 'with a peripheral fin extending outwardly from the mouth thereof from thermo-plastic sheet material, applying a cover to said member having an inverted trough-like cavity therein, blowing said form retaining still moldable material into said trough-like base member and the cavity in said cover to fill them so that the material protrudes outwardly from the mouth of the trough-like base member within the boundaries of such mouth, positioning a trough-like cover member formed from thermo-plastic sheet material having a cavity coextensive with the protruding portion of the material to be packaged and having a peripheral fin extending outwardly from the mouth thereof over such material so that the peripheral fins are in engagement and sealing said fins together by exerting pressure thereagainst.

4. The method of packaging form retaining still moldable material Which comprises forming a trough-like base member with a peripheral fin extending outwardly from the mouth thereof from thermoplastic sheet material, positioning a reinforcement member in the trough to extend along a side and the ends thereof, and beyond such ends, filling the reinforced trough with such form retaining still moldable material so that it protrudes outwardly from the mouth of the trough within the boundaries of suchmouth and is confined between the portions of the reinforcement member at the ends of thev trough, forming a second trough-like cover member from plastic sheet material and which has a cavity coextensive with the protruding portion of the material to be packaged and a peripheral fin extending outwardly from the mouth thereof, positioning the cover member over the base member so that the peripheral fins are in engagement and sealing together such fins by exerting pressure thereagainst.

5. The method recited in claim 4 in which the trough in the base member is filled by subjecting the material to be packaged to gas under pressure.

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